Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (29 December 1808 – 31 July 1875) was President of the United States from 15 April 1865 to 4 March 1869, succeeding Abraham Lincoln and preceding Ulysses S. Grant. A member of the US Democratic Party, he was chosen as the Republican Lincoln's running mate during the 1864 election, as the Union sought to form a national unity government during the American Civil War. After the war, however, he proved to be biased in favor of the American South, as he forbade federal troops from occupying his home state of Tennessee and allowed for racist laws to remain in place across the south. The Radical Republicans managed to impeach him, but he was acquitted by just one vote. Today, conservatives admire him for remaining true to the US Constitution, while liberals oppose his racism against the newly-emancipated African-Americans. Biography Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on 29 December 1808, and he worked as a tailor in several frontier towns before settling in Tennessee. Johnson lived in Greeneville, and he was elected to the city council, later becoming mayor. In 1835, he was elected to the State House of Representatives as a member of the conservative US Democratic Party, and he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1843, serving until 1853. From 1853 to 1857, he served as Governor of Tennessee, succeeding William B. Campbell and preceding Isham G. Harris, and he was elected to the Senate to succeed James C. Jones in 1857. Johnson succeeded in securing the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, and he was appointed Military Governor of Tennessee after the Union took the state over during the American Civil War; his senate seat was left to David Patterson. During the election of 1864, Johnson was chosen as the US Republican Party presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln's vice-presidential candidate to create a national unity government, appeasing the pro-Union Democrats of the south, as well as the pro-South Copperheads of the north. Johnson was sworn in as Vice-President on 12 March 1865, and he served in this post for just over one month. Presidency Johnson succeeded to the presidency when Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizers, and he presided over the closing weeks of the American Civil War. With the end of the war in May 1865, Johnson began "Reconstruction", a series of constitutional amendments, reforms, and social programs undertaken with the goal of rebuilding and reintegrating the south into the United States. Johnson favored a lenient approach towards reintegrating the American South, and he decided to spare his home state of Union occupation. He vetoed the bills proposed by the Radical Republicans, who wanted to exact harsh justice on the southern states and protect the newly-acquired rights of the African-Americans. Johnson also opposed the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to freed slaves. Eventually, the Radical Republicans made an effort to impeach Johnson, but he was acquitted before the Senate by just one vote. He left office as an unpopular president in 1869, and he died 1875. Andrew Johnson portrait.jpg Senator Johnson.jpg Category:1808 births Category:1875 deaths Category:American presidents Category:Americans Category:Presidents Category:American politicians Category:Politicians Category:Protestants Category:English-Americans Category:Scots Irish-Americans Category:Democratic Party members Category:American conservatives Category:Conservatives Category:Tennessee Democrats Category:Freemasons Category:People from North Carolina Category:People from Tennessee Category:Presbyterians Category:People from Raleigh Category:People from Washington DC Category:People from Greeneville, Tennessee Category:Calvinists Category:Tailors Category:American tailors